WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ‘GAME OF THRONES’ SEASON 8, EPISODE 3 — “THE BATTLE OF WINTERFELL” — WILL FOLLOW.
Game of Thrones “The Battle of Winterfell” Season 8, Episode 3 Review & Recap
Major Deaths: 8 (The Dothraki,Dolorus Edd,Beric Dondarrion, Jorah Mormont, Lyanna Mormont, Theon Greyjoy,The Night King and The Red Woman.
Major Reveals: 1 (The Night King not being affected by Dragon Fire)
Number of times Bran creeped someone out: 1
Hyped as the longest and most action-packed episode in the history of Game of Thrones, the third episode of season eight — The Battle of Winterfell — did not disappoint.
The third episode of the final season once again opens with the brand new intro that takes us into the depths of both Winterfell and King’s Landing. However, the ice of the dead has now made its way down the map to Winterfell.
The episode opens with a nervous Samwell being handed two dragon glass daggers.
He walks by Tyrion, who the camera begins to follow. Bran rolls by with Theon, likely en route to the Godswood.
We’re now with Davos, Sansa, and Arya on top of the Winterfell walls before the screeches of Dany’s dragons can be heard.
All of the main heroes are on the front line: Brienne, Pod, Jaime, The Hound, Tormund, Gendry, Samwell, Beric, Jorah, Ghost … all of them.
Jon, Dan, and the dragons watch from atop of a hill, away from the battle, as discussed in the previous episode. The silence is deafening.
The Red Woman shows up on horseback. She uses her magic to light all of the Dothraki’s swords with fire. All of the troops are now HYPED. She hits Grey Worm with a classic “Valar Morghaluis.”
Davos allows the Red Woman to enter Winterfell, who says there’s no need to execute her as she’ll be “dead before the dawn.”
The Dothraki begins to charge and the living began to launch the catapults at the dead. The initial wave of living, flaming sword-wielding Dothraki troops are defeated within seconds. The dead begin to charge on a Winterfell. And the forces are beyond overwhelming.
Jon And Dany roll through on the dragons to even the odds. They attempt to attack the White Walkers but are blown back by a massive Winter storm. Aight is now very difficult.
Arya sends Sansa down to the crypts with a weapon and all of the main heroes are shown in battle. Dolorous Edd is the first to die after he saves Samwell’s life.
Sansa makes her way down to the crypts, Tyrion takes a swig of liquor when he realizes the battle is not going well. Dany and Jon fly their dragons into each other due to the winter fog.
The troops begin to retreat into Winterfell as the Unsullied hold their ground. Arya saves the Hound with a flaming arrow as he retreats into Winterfell.
Grey Worm orders the trench to be lit. Davos tries to signal Dany to light the trench but the signal can’t be seen because of the winter storm. They now attempt to light the trench manually but are unsuccessful.
The Unsullied build a barrier around the Red Woman to allow her to light the trench with her magic.
After a handful of start and stops, she’s able to light the trench just in time. The dead flat out stop trying to breach the walls because of the fire.
We’re now in the crypts, where Tyrion is lamenting the fact that he isn’t above ground helping. Sansa tells him to accept what he is but also says he’s the best husband she ever had. The two share a nice moment.
Sansa starts to talk smack about Dany, but Missandei defends her saying we’d all be dead without her.
At the Godswood with Bran, Theon goes to apologize for his sins, but Bran reassures him by saying his fate has brought him here.
Bran wargs into Ravens and tracks down the Night King, who is on his dragon and commanding the dead to begin sacrificing themselves to build a bridge of dead bodies to get over the fire trench. Jon spots the Night King on his dragon and begins pursuit.
The dead begin to make their way up the wall and into Winterfell by climbing on top of each other. The dead breach the walls of Winterfell. At this point, outside of killing the Night King, it’s tough to see how the living can win this battle.
The Hound is frozen in fear, but Arya pulls through with her SICK spear and immediately racks up the highest body count of any hero. A dead giant breaks into Winterfell and whacks Lyanna Mormont. She lives though.
The Hound seems to have given up and accept death until he sees Arya, which springs him into action.
Lyanna Mormont sacrifices herself to kill a dead giant. The giant picks her up to crush her and she stabs him in the eye, killing them both.
A battle between the living and dead dragons begins as Arya finds herself alone in a room full of White Walkers and has to use her stealth skills to avoid them.
The dead begin to chase her as she runs away, but the camera cuts away to the crypts, where they can begin to hear the dead. The living desperately tries to enter the crypts, screaming “open the door!” The people in the crypts hear them get killed and fall silent.
We’re with the Hound and Beric now, who are silently creeping through the halls of Winterfell that Ayra is currently scrambling through.
Beric saves Arya by throwing his flaming sword at the dead and sacrifices himself to save Arya and the Hound. The Red Woman is there and tells Arya that Beric served his purpose to the Lord of Light.
The Red Woman explains to Arya what she meant a few seasons back when she told her she’s close many eyes, including “blue ones.” The Red Woman asks Arya what we say to the god of death, a call back to season one.
“Not today,” Arya says, as she runs off to assumedly go find a face of a White Walker.
Jon and the Night King dragons are fighting, and Jon is losing until Dany saves him, knocking the Night King off his dragon.
Dany hits the Night King with Dracarys, but he’s not affected by it, and he smiles.
Jon Snow takes out his sword and pursues the Night King, but it stopped as The Night King raises the dead around Jon and all of the dead inside Winterfell are raised, including the dead in the crypts. At this point, the battle seems lost.
Dany and her dragon then save Jons life again, but the dead are able to mount Dany’s dragon. However, Dany falls of the dragon but is then saved by Jorah.
Jon makes his way into Winterfell and sees the utter devastation, including Samwell, who is being overrun by dead. We’re now with Theon in the Godswood, who has run out of arrows to defend Bran with.
Jorah and Dany are surrounded by the dead, Tyrion and Arya are hiding behind a tomb in the crypts and begin to cry, and The Night King begins to approach Bran as our heroes are overrun. Hope has seemed to run out.
Bran tells Theon he is a good man and thanks him before Theon heroically charges at the Night King, who kills him with ease.
Just when all hope seems truly lost, Arya springs forward (presumedly able to get close to the Night King by wearing the face of a White Walker) and kills the Night King, using the “knife-switching-hands” move she used when she was training with Brienne of Tarth in season 7.
Jorah dies in Dany’s arms outside of the walls of Winterfell as the dead all begin to fall following the slaying of the Night King.
The Red Woman takes off her magic necklace and dies as Ser Davos watches from afar.
The eighth and final season of HBO’s Emmy Award-winning fantasy drama ‘Game of Thrones’ began on Sunday, April 14, and will conclude on Sunday, May 19.
